"I know that having a mother with a scandalous past means Cherry has lost her chance to become Mrs. Yin, the young mistress of the family. I don't wish for Cherry to be rich or powerful; I just hope she won't have to live a life of humiliation like I did." Mrs. Miller's eyes reddened as she pleaded, "Madam, please, let Cherry have a better future."
Cecilia couldn't help but say, "Why bother? The Yin family could easily suppress this whole thing."
"The Yin family can control the media and delete posts, but they can't silence the clan's gossip," Mrs. Miller said with a bitter smile. "The Yin family is vast, with so many relatives. How could they ever allow the next Mrs. Yin—the young mistress of the clan—to carry such a stain?"
She had insisted on breaking up with Ethan Yin before, all because of what her mother told her.
Mrs. Miller gave a bleak, complicated smile. "They're here."
Now, are they going to be forced to break up again?
God, why are you so blind?
Why do you have to torture my mom and me?
Hasn't Mom suffered enough in this life?
Why does that jerk Dad get to live his life carefree?
It's not fair. It's really, really not fair!
Cecilia also knew that everything Mrs. Miller said were issues that demanded immediate attention.
She wanted to comfort Mrs. Miller, but she just didn't know where to start.
"Madam, three elders from the family are here to see you," the maid reported, knocking on the door.
"They're here." Mrs. Miller gave a bleak, complicated smile.
She'd predicted how the elders would react before she came to the Yin family's old house.
Sure enough, they came.
They came to force her and Cherry out.
Cecilia rubbed her temples, feeling a headache. "Just tell them I've gone to bed."
As soon as she finished speaking, a booming voice rang out in the courtyard: "Nephew's wife, I'm truly sorry to bother you today. But this matter concerns the reputation of our Yin family, built over hundreds of years. I have no choice but to come."
"I'm an elder of the Yin family. It's my duty to protect the family's reputation. Let's talk face to face tonight."
"You can't keep running away from this. Let's just settle it tonight."
Now that they were here, it was impossible for Cecilia to avoid them.
These people were all elders of the Yin family. It wouldn't be proper for Cecilia not to meet them.
Mrs. Miller shook her head at Cecilia, stepped back, and stood beside Cherry. She whispered, "Madam, let me be the one to sacrifice. Please protect Cherry. I'm begging you!"
Cecilia sighed and said, "Don't panic yet. Let's see how things go. Maybe it's not as complicated as you think."
After speaking, Cecilia instructed, "Please ask the three elders to wait in the parlor. I'll be right there."
The maid led the three elders to the parlor.
Cecilia then said to Mrs. Miller, "Charles isn't home right now, and it's not appropriate for him to get involved in this. Don't worry, I won't let you get kicked out so easily. This is still my house, and I make the decisions here."
With that, Cecilia got up and went to the parlor.
Cherry threw her arms around her mother, choking back sobs. "Mom, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I couldn't stop him from spreading the video."
Mrs. Miller gently touched Cherry's head, sighed, and wanted to say something, but in the end said nothing.
Back when Ethan Yin was pursuing Cherry, Mrs. Miller had strongly opposed it.
She wasn't an old-fashioned parent; she just knew clearly what marrying into the Yin family would cost.
With so many stains on her, it was inevitable that her daughter would be dragged down too.
When that day came, the one who would suffer most wouldn't be her—it would be Cherry.
Watching Cherry and Ethan fall in love, Mrs. Miller worried every single day.
But that's the thing about life—the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.
And now, what she feared most had finally come true.
No matter what that bastard Dad's reason was for exposing the video, it still ended up affecting Cherry.
it ended up affecting Cherry.
Poor kid, what will she do in the future?
"Mom, it's not your fault," Cherry sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
"Silly child," Mrs. Miller's eyes softened as she spoke gently. "It's your mother who dragged you into this."
Cherry shook her head hard, her tears falling even faster.
She started to regret not going easier on Cassie.
Maybe if she'd let Cassie off the hook, Cassie wouldn't have exposed those videos.
Well, actually, that video was bound to be exposed sooner or later.
That jerk Dad definitely had backup plans. Even if Cassie hadn't exposed it, someone else would have.
Who knows how many people that jerk Dad sold the video to. Right now, Cassie is just the first to expose it.
"Come on, let's go listen to what the elders have to say. This is a hurdle for us mother and daughter. If we get through it, we get through it. If not... Cherry, you walk with me." Mrs. Miller paused, then said, "The money we've saved over the years is enough for us to live on. Madam and the Yin family have taken care of us for so long. We can't be selfish and make Madam struggle over our problems."
Cherry didn't want to agree, but she knew this wasn't about what she wanted.
She had no choice but to agree.
She couldn't bear to leave.
She couldn't bear to leave the Yin family, couldn't bear to leave Madam, couldn't bear to leave Ethan, couldn't bear to leave Yina, couldn't bear to leave... everything.
For more than twenty years, she'd already come to see this as her home.
Now, her home was collapsing.
Cherry nodded, "Mom, no matter what happens, I'll face it with you."
"Alright." Mrs. Miller's eyes filled with tears, but she was still smiling. "We'll face it together."
In the parlor, the three elders sat solemnly at the head of the table.
As soon as Cecilia walked in, the three elders fixed their burning gazes on her.
"It's my fault for not welcoming you properly this late at night. I was planning to greet you tomorrow." Cecilia instructed, "Bring the elders fresh tea—this year's new high-mountain snow tea."
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
One of the elders, Mr. Feng, softened his expression at Cecilia's words. "Nephew's wife, you're too polite."
"Aunt, don't say that. I was planning to serve this tea to the elders anyway. Today, you just get to try it early and see if you like it." Cecilia replied with a gentle smile.
The second elder, Old Master Yin, spoke up: "Let's set the tea aside for now. You're the young mistress of the Yin family, and normally we elders wouldn't interfere. But in all our family's history, we've never had a scandal like this. Especially Cherry—she was raised to be your daughter-in-law. Even if she's innocent, with such a stain on her, she can't enter our ancestral hall."
"Grandpa, come on, it's the modern age! Are you really going to drag out that old 'punish the whole clan' drama? I took in Cherry and her mother when I was in France; that was my responsibility. If you want to blame someone, blame me." Cecilia took the blame on herself. "Everyone knows how hard Cherry has worked, how smart she is. Plus, she's made plenty of profit for the Yin family over the years. You're really going to break up those two over something this small? Grandpa, I can't agree with that."
The third elder, Uncle Tang, said, "No need to defend them so quickly. No matter what era it is, our Yin family doesn't accept people with stains like this. If she was marrying someone from a side branch, we could turn a blind eye. But Ethan is our next family head, and the young mistress can't have any stains. Cherry is great, but there are plenty of great girls out there. Why does it have to be her?"
Cecilia replied coolly, "So, Uncle, what do you want to do?"
"Of course, kick them both out of the Yin family and publicly declare that they have nothing to do with us." All three elders said in unison.
Cecilia lowered her gaze and let out a cold laugh.
That's just how these elders are.
Usually, the Yin family pays for their food, drink, and housing, taking good care of them. But when the company faces big issues, they never show up.
Yet whenever some trivial scandal pops up, they're always the first to jump out.
Cecilia really wanted to slam the table and kick them out, but she couldn't.
The Yin family started out relying on relatives and brothers, and they've kept up that tradition all these years.
Clan ties are extremely important to the Yin family.
So even as the mistress of the Yin family, Cecilia had to consider the clan's opinion.
They don't care about the company's business, but they're always concerned about the family's reputation.
"What if I refuse?" Ethan Yin's voice suddenly rang out from the parlor doorway.
Cecilia looked up and saw Ethan Yin storming in, his face full of anger.
Cherry, hiding off to the side, froze for a moment when she saw Ethan arrive, then managed a bitter smile.
He really did come.
The sweet part was that, as soon as Ethan heard she was in trouble, he dropped everything and rushed back to stand up for her. The bitter part was, seeing the stance of these three elders, she and her mother were in for a rough night. The sorrow was, no matter how hard Ethan fought for her, he probably couldn't overcome the clan's will. In the end, they would have to part ways.
The sweet part was that, as soon as Ethan heard she was in trouble, he dropped everything and rushed back to stand up for her.
The bitter part was, seeing the stance of these three elders, she and her mother were in for a rough night.
The sorrow was, no matter how hard Ethan fought for her, he probably couldn't overcome the clan's will. In the end, they would have to part ways.
Mrs. Miller sighed softly, not knowing what to say.
Children are always a debt.
Ethan entered the parlor, greeted everyone, then spoke up: "Mrs. Miller is the most innocent here, and Cherry is even more blameless. Did they ask for any of this? They're the victims! Are we really going to rub salt in their wounds? Is that right?"
"Ethan! You're the Yin family's heir—you carry a legacy that sets you apart from ordinary people. As clan leader, you must shoulder these responsibilities." Mr. Feng said, "We sympathize with Mrs. Miller, but our family has never made an exception: we can't allow someone with a scandal in her past to become Mrs. Yin, the mistress of our clan!"